30 years old. Suffering from hypertension. Having heart attack. Is this risky?

Hi, my partner had a heart attack at 30 and had a stent put in. He has had hypertension since he was 27. I have heard having a heart attack at or below 30 years of age is very risky. He is on aspirin and other heart-related medications. I want to know what are the risks of him developing other vascular related diseases such as stroke? Some have even told me he will have a stroke within 5 years of the heart attack. Please advise me about his risks so that I can be aware of it and seek help.

Hi there,
Thanks for writing in.
I am a qualified and certified cardiologist and I read your mail with diligence.
Undoubtedly, your partner had in addition to hypertension some other risk factors for coronary artery disease. Now the worst is over and it is, excuse me for choosing this word, silly to predict that he will have stroke after 5 years. He should live a normal life provided he:
a). Follow the immediate and mid term advice about medications prescribed by the doctor and advice regarding diet and exercise.
b). Get himself worked up for all the possible known risk factors.
c). Follow the medical advise and read literature from net about followup after heart attack, as towards the end of the this answer I have picked some advise about yogic exercises from Internet. So let us start with risk factors.
At any age, following is the list of risk factors for future development of Coronary Artery Disease. Let me enumerate and you can place yourself the risk you are carrying ('*' means you have the risk factor, '+/-' means I do not know and about others you know better):-

From the list, above he has some risk factors. Hypertension, Stress, being a man and increasing age could be identified by your mail. Therefore, I will strongly recommend consulting your doctor about others; he may complete the list, as well at a suitable time do tests to find out target organ damage due to hypertension if any to cerebrovascular system and kidney. You have not his weight and exercise habits. Now with doctor's advice some changes may be necessary.
It is never too late to change. With your weight everything you do will have to be under supervision. It need not be cardiologist but your primary doctor can guide your way back to health - I am happy to read that. You may need drugs and he/she (or ask the dietitian) to advise you about diet low in calories and cholesterol, advise you on quantum of exercise. You ought to keep your weight under control for you do not want other attack. If you like non vegetarian you cannot take red meat but there is no bar (in taking certainly quantity had to be less) on egg white, roasted chicken and roasted fish.
Exercise: Brisk walk (slowly at first but aim is to walk) at the speed of 5 KM/Hr for 40 minutes per day every day is enough aerobic exercise you need for keeping your heart healthy. Again initially all this shall be under doctor's supervision.
Now about stress. Please do this yogic exercise for ten minutes twice a day. will write about the progressive muscular relaxation which is used for non pharmacological treatment of blood pressure. This has opposite effect to heavy isometric exercise. Additionally, this is a great stress buster. It is called Savasana: corpse pose if literally translated (the original is in Sanskrit ancient literature but this translation I picked from the net and it looks quite appropriate).
I quote:

"No yoga session is complete without the final pose – Savasana. The body needs this time to understand the new information it has received through practicing yoga. Even though Savasana is a resting pose, it’s not the same a sleeping! You should stay present and aware during the five to ten minute duration of final relaxation.

Instructions:

1. Come to lie down on the back.

2. Let the feet fall out to either side.

3. Bring the arms alongside the body, but slightly separated from the body, and turn the palms to face upwards.

4. Relax the whole body, including the face. Let the body feel heavy.

5. Let the breath occur naturally.

6. To come out, first begin to the deepen the breath. Then move the fingers and toes, awakening the body.

7. Bring the knees into the chest and roll over to one side, keep the eyes closed.

8. Slowly bring yourself back up into a sitting position.

Here are some ideas on ways to use props during savasana to make this pose more comfortable and relaxing XXXXXX
End of quote
If there is any further query I will be most happy to answer asap. It is a pleasure interacting with you.
With Best Wishes.